


unassignable reflections

by aanje



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Missing Adventure, Time Loop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:09:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27677185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aanje/pseuds/aanje
Summary: The whole experience, it feels unreal.Just because you discover you’re in a time loop, doesn’t mean you can escape it.
Relationships: Twelfth Doctor & Bill Potts
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10
Collections: Time Oops Exchange 2020





	unassignable reflections

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FictionPenned](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FictionPenned/gifts).



> set after 10.02, 'smile' and before 10.03, 'thin ice'.

“I can’t believe we just did that! We just saved an entire civilization by rebooting a computer program!” Bill looks at the Doctor in both wonder and disbelief. She shakes her head in amazement, and rests against the railings of the TARDIS. “Will all our trips be like that? So grand and momentous?”

She’s looking down at the control console, not directing the question at the Doctor. The Doctor recognises the question as rhetorical, something Bill is wrestling with personally; she’s trying to wrap her head around the reality of _all of time and space_ that travelling with the Doctor promises.

Getting lost in your own head is never a good thing. So, naturally, the Doctor has to reclaim Bill’s attention. He jogs down the steps and over to the control console of the TARDIS, calling out to Bill, “Right! Where to next? How about somewhere fun and whimsical?”

The Doctor doesn’t wait for Bill to answer. Instead, he slams the TARDIS into gear, and they slip noisily into the time vortex.

Bill’s head shoots up, her eyes alive with possibilities. “Fun and whimsical? Sounds perfect! What kind of fun are we talking here? Like, a ‘party’ fun? Or more like meeting a celebrity type of fun?” 

Bill springs down the steps to join the Doctor at the console. “If it’s the celebrity kind, could we meet Sister Rosetta Tharpe? She inspired so many great musicians! Like, could you imagine seeing her perform in person, and being shoulder to shoulder with Elvis at the same time?”

The Doctor fixes his facial expression into one of quick contemplation, but in actuality, he’s already set the co-ordinates for a planet he thinks Bill will like. “That does sound fun, but I was leaning more towards the whimsical side.”

Bill's grin matches the Doctor's.

~

The planet they land on is so tiny, Bill can see the curvature of the horizon.

The whole place is blanketed in snow so bright it sparkles in the light of suns there. The sky pulses a neon pink and electric blue in a slow rhythm, but the snow inverts the colours into a soft, almost faded green and orange. Bill thinks maybe that's why she doesn't feel the least bit cold in her jeans jacket, with no scarf — something to do with the inversion process of the reflected light. 

There isn't much in the way of wildlife — actually, Bill can't see any at all, — and the greenery doesn't appear diverse. But the trees? The trees _sing_. They seem to be talking to each other in an ethereal melody that leaves Bill transfixed. Their branches sway hypnotically as a dusting of snow falls perpetually down, but never seems to add to the snow already on the ground.

The whole experience, it feels unreal.

"Doctor, do you understand what the trees are singing?" Bill's head is tilted all the way back, peering at the sky as snow falls around her.

"Ah, so you can only hear the trees,” he mutters, as he pushes away from the door frame of the TARDIS he was leaning on. “Well, I haven’t quite got around to fixing that circuit yet, so even I’m not too sure what the planet sings about. What I do know, however, is that the harmonization is what helps the planet exist. If the song ever stops, the planet would die, and it would take centuries before a new planet would form."

The Doctor steps out of the TARDIS threshold and on to the snow. He looks down and frowns.

"Is that it? Centuries? And a whole new planet would exist in the exact same way? That’s –.” Bill spins slowly on the spot before turning to the Doctor. "Doctor, can I get a picture? I want to remember this place forever."

Bill takes out her phone from her pocket and walks back to the Doctor. He looks up and flashes a quick smile for her photo, and immediately looks back down as Bill walks back to where she was standing.

"Have you noticed something off about the snow?" The Doctor crouches low to the ground.

"Yeah... No footprints," Bill mutters, but she’s frowning in confusion; her focus is on her phone. A warning has flashed up on her screen, telling her that she's running out of storage space. Which made zero sense.

Bill uses her phone like a phone — she barely has anything on it except the default apps, Twitter, and Instagram. She saves all her photos, videos, and voice recordings in zip files on her computer every month, specifically so she doesn't ever have to worry about running out of space. (It was a habit she couldn’t shake from when she had her old phone.)

"What?" The Doctor looks up, baffled. "It's the opposite — there are footprints all over this place! Can you not see them?" He gets up and gestures around them. "How did I miss this when I was in the TARDIS?" He takes out his sonic screwdriver and does a reading of the area. Only two life signs register as different from the planet's — his and Bill's.

Bill is walking slowly back towards the TARDIS, her focus still on her phone. Her frown deepens as she checks her phone storage. There's an abnormally large percentage being taken up by photos. She stops walking.

There are hundreds of the exact same photo filling up her gallery. And all of them are from today.

"Um, Doctor? Can travelling in the TARDIS mess up your phone?" She looks up and waves her phone in his direction. "Because I’m pretty sure your TARDIS has messed up my phone. I only took the one picture, but now there's hundreds of 'em on here?"

The Doctor comes over in big strides. (Bill wouldn't call it a run, but it's definitely at a speed swift enough to kick up wind.)

"Let me see that." He takes the phone out of Bill's hand and scans it with his sonic screwdriver.

"So, can you fix it?" Bill tucks her hands into her back pockets and rocks on her heels. She doesn't mind if she has to reset the phone, as there's so little on there anyway. (Or, at least, that's usually the case.) It'd be a hassle, but not life-ending.

But? The way the Doctor looks up at her has Bill getting worried. "Um, so can you fix my phone, or?"

"Not to worry —"

"Too late."

"— but I think we might be in a small bit of trouble. Act calm, act natural, and let's go back to the TARDIS." The Doctor finishes on a whisper. He pockets Bill's phone and gestures for her to follow him.

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Bill walks quickly to keep up with the Doctor's not-quite run. Her eyes dart around the planet, trying to notice the new danger they've gotten themselves into.

The Doctor doesn't answer until they're inside the TARDIS, and the doors are safely closed behind them. "Oh, nothing much. It's just, I don't think this is the first time we've been on this planet. In fact, it's possible we're stuck here indefinitely, and have been for a while now."

"Wait, what?" Bill turns to look at the Doctor in confusion.

The Doctor's grin looks almost hysterical. "But like I said: not to worry! I've been in worse situations! I'm sure we'll work our way out of this one. Eventually."

**Author's Note:**

> title is from _deleuze on cinema_ by ronald bogue.


End file.
